Renato Costa

Dems looking to resurrect extremist pro-voter fraud bill

8 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

Democrats are planning on resurrecting the failed bill they tried to pass in the last legislative session that was filibustered down by Republicans in the final hours. Sen. Bill Sharer (R-Farmington) spoke for hours on the final day of the 2022 Legislative Session, successfully blocking the legislation.

The previous piece of legislation, 2022’s H.B. 144, included ballot harvesting, unsecured ballot drop boxes for ballot stuffing, and automatic voter registration, among other measures to make New Mexico elections less secure.

The bill started out as a two-page simple elections bill but was amended by Democrats in the final hours to add hundreds of pages of regulations that made New Mexico elections extremely at risk of more fraud. 

Democrat Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver said to the Santa Fe New Mexican, “This legislation, I think, is even better because it has really been spearheaded and brought to life by the advocacy community [that wants] to continue to sort of pick up the ball and continue to move it forward on advancing voting rights here in New Mexico.”

According to the report, “The new chairwoman of the Senate Rules Committee, Sen. Katy Duhigg, D-Albuquerque, is one of the sponsors of the voting rights legislation, along with Martínez and House Majority Leader Gail Chasey, D-Albuquerque.” 

Duhigg claimed the bill will “protect the health of our democracy by helping ensure that here in New Mexico every eligible voter has access to the ballot and that every vote is freely cast and fairly counted.”

Republican Senate Leader Greg Baca of Belen said, “Last year, we followed the lead of our County Clerks and unanimously passed a bipartisan election bill out of the Senate that strengthened voter rights and improved election security,” but it was hijacked by the Democrat majority.

It is unclear if the bill will pass this legislative session, but if it does, it should expect roadblocks in the state Senate and the House from Republicans opposed to making it hard to cheat in elections. 

AG Torrez demands NM Supreme Court strike down pro-life ordinances

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On Monday, newly elected Democrat New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez asked the New Mexico Supreme Court to intervene to overturn pro-life “sanctuary” ordinances passed by multiple county commissions and city governing boards.

KOB 4 reported, “At a news conference, Torrez said the ordinances are significant even in regions with no abortion clinics because they threaten to restrict access to reproductive health care in people’s homes. More than half of U.S. abortions are now done with pills rather than surgery.” 

“This is not Texas. Our State Constitution does not allow cities, counties or private citizens to restrict women’s reproductive rights,” Torrez claimed in a statement. “Today’s action sends a strong message that my office will use every available tool to swiftly and decisively uphold individual liberties against unconstitutional overreach.”

Torrez’s action targets Roosevelt and Lea counties and the cities of Hobbs and Clovis in eastern New Mexico.

“In his filing, Torrez argues that the New Mexico Constitution provides broader protection of individual rights than the U.S. Constitution — and that the local ordinances violate New Mexicans’ inherent rights, liberty and privacy,” the report noted.

On Monday, the City of Eunice in Lea County passed a pro-life ordinance with a 7-0 vote. 

Pro-life advocate Mark Lee Dickson wrote on Facebook, “Tonight, Eunice, New Mexico (pop. 3,026) became the THIRD sanctuary city for the unborn in New Mexico and the SIXTY-FIFTH sanctuary city for the unborn in the United States! Eunice was also the FIRST city to pass such an ordinance since the State of New Mexico filed suit against the two cities and two counties in New Mexico which have passed similar ordinances.”

It is unclear if the state Supreme Court will take up pro-abortion Attorney General Torrez’s request since the ordinances are based on federal, not state laws that protect the sanctity of life in the womb.

Behar concocts conspiracy about ‘Rust’ shooting special prosecutor

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Far-left The View co-host Joy Behar claimed Friday that state Rep. Andrea Reeb (R-Clovis), the former district attorney for the Ninth Judicial District, should be booted from the legal team as special prosecutor of the investigation into October 2021’s fatal shooting on the set of the movie Rust. 

Behar claimed that Reeb being “a big Republican” means she should be booted from investigating leftist actor Alec Baldwin, who shot multiple crew members, leading to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Democratic Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies decided to charge Baldwin and head armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed for Hutchins’ death.

“The DA [special prosecutor] who is indicting him, or whatever the legal term is right now, she’s a big Republican. I’m only saying this because Alec Baldwin is a target for Republicans,” Behar claimed. “They cannot stand him. I’m not saying anything more than that.”

Behar was forced to issue a correction after the commercial break that she mixed up the Democratic district attorney, Carmack-Altwies, with Reeb, a Republican.

“I get them mixed up sometimes. So, sue me,” she said.

Carmark-Altwies told CNN in an interview Thursday that the investigation found there is “probable cause” to charge Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed because of lacking “safety standards” on the set. She said the tragedy would have been prevented if Baldwin and the others charged had “done their jobs.”

Photo credit: Walt Disney Television.

NM House committee hearing anti-gun bill on Tuesday

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On Tuesday, the New Mexico House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee (HCPAC) will meet to consider an extreme anti-gun bill, H.B. 9, sponsored by state Rep. Pamelya Herndon (D-Bernalillo).  It is also co-sponsored by the chairwoman of HCPAC, Rep. Joanne Ferrary (D-Doña Ana).  

Herndon’s bill will force New Mexicans to lock up their firearms in “a gun safe or a device that prevents a firearm from being discharged or from being used to expel a projectile by the action of an explosion or a device other than a gun safe that locks a firearm and is designed to prevent children and unauthorized users from firing a firearm, which device may be installed on a firearm, be incorporated into the design of the firearm or prevent access to the firearm.”

If the gun owner does not lock up any and all firearms and their gun is somehow used in an offense by a minor causing “great bodily harm” or death, the parent of that child could be made a felon if the victim of the crime is killed or permanently disabled.

As noted by even some Democrats in the chamber during a July 2022 preview of the bill, it would be the first crime proposal to base a defendant’s sentence not on their own actions but that of someone else (a minor) who got ahold of a firearm. 

The bill does not, however, include provisions protecting the gun owner if the firearm was stolen, nor does it account for the de-facto tax it burdens the owner with being forced to find a new locking device to place it at all times. The bill is also blatantly unconstitutional.

Previous versions of this bill sponsored during the last two legislative sessions by state Sen. Antoinette Sedillo-Lopez (D-Bernalillo) have died.

The first anti-gun bill introduced by Democrats is one by state Rep. Patricia Roybal-Caballero (D-Bernalillo), H.B. 50, which bans all citizens who own firearm magazines greater than ten rounds and makes any offender a felon. 

The Committee will meet ten minutes following the House floor session, or approximately at 1:30 p.m. in Room 317 in Santa Fe. 

To join the meeting virtually, see the Zoom details below:

Please click the link below to join the webinar:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89037370054

Or One tap mobile :

 US: +13462487799,,89037370054# or +16694449171,,89037370054#

Webinar ID: 890 3737 0054

 International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdAYD2zIM2

To contact the members of the committee, see the contact information for their offices below: 

Chairwoman Joann Ferrary (D) 505-986-4844 joanne.ferrary@nmlegis.gov 

Rep. Angelica Rubio (D) 505-986-4210 angelica.rubio@nmlegis.gov 

Rep. Andrea Romero (D) 505-986-4243 andrea@andrearomero.com 

Rep. Liz Thomson (D) 505-986-4425 liz.thomson@nmlegis.gov 

Rep. Stefani Lord (R) 505-986-4453 stefani.lord@nmlegis.gov (NRA Endorsed in 2022)

Rep. John Block (R) 505-986-4220 John.Block@nmlegis.gov (NRA Endorsed in 2022)

NM state Reps. Stefani Lord, John Block sponsor bill mandating pedophile castration

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On Thursday, New Mexico state Reps. Stefani Lord (R-Sandia Park) and John Block (R-Alamogordo) dropped a bill, H.B. 128, which will mandate the chemical castration of pedophilic sex offenders as a condition of parole.

The bill notes, “A person required to undergo chemical castration treatment shall begin the treatment not less than one month prior to the person’s release from custody of the corrections department and shall continue receiving treatment until the court determines the treatment is no longer necessary. The treatment shall be administered by the department of health.”

Furthermore, the offender must eat the cost of the chemical castration in addition to any court costs. 

Another section of the proposed bill reads, “In addition to any condition of parole under Subsection A of this section, as a condition of parole, a person released on parole under this section shall authorize the department of health to share with the parole board all medical records relating to the person’s chemical castration treatment. A person may elect to stop receiving the treatment at any time and may not be forced to receive the treatment; provided that the refusal shall constitute a violation of the person’s parole and the person shall be immediately remanded to the custody of the corrections department for the remainder of the sentence from which the person was paroled.” 

If the offender claims indigency, the pedophile would need to appear before a court and prove they are “not capable of paying the fees or costs within the reasonably foreseeable future.”

The legislation will be heard in House Health and Human Services Committee and then House Judiciary Committee. No date has yet been set on the bill. 

Editor’s note: Rep. Block is the founder and editor of the Piñon Post, New Mexico’s leading conservative online news publication.

Anti-gun bills referred to legislative committees

7 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On the second day of the 2023 Legislative Session, progressive legislation was referred to House committees for consideration. Some of the proposals include sweeping gun bans to assault New Mexicans’ constitutional rights. Here are some of the bills that will be going through committees soon.

H.B. 9 by state Rep. Pamelya Herndon (D-Bernalillo), will force New Mexicans to lock up their firearms in “a gun safe or a device that prevents a firearm from being discharged or from being used to expel a projectile by the action of an explosion or a device other than a gun safe that locks a firearm and is designed to prevent children and unauthorized users from firing a firearm, which device may be installed on a firearm, be incorporated into the design of the firearm or prevent access to the firearm.”

If the gun owner does not lock up any and all firearms and their gun somehow was used in an offense by a minor causing “great bodily harm” or death, the parent of that child could be made a felon if the victim of the crime is killed or permanently disabled. 

H.B. 9 has been referred to House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee (HCPAC) and then House Judiciary Committee. No committee times have yet been posted for HCPAC, but hearings are expected within the week.

H.B. 50, sponsored by Rep. Patricia Roybal Caballero (D-Bernalillo), will ban magazines over nine rounds, making all owners of such firearms felons. The bill has been referred to House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee, House Judiciary Committee (HJC), and the House Appropriations and Finance Committee (HAFC). No dates have yet been set on HCPAC for a hearing.

H.B. 72, also by Roybal Caballero, would make it a felony to possess a bump stock, binary trigger, or anything else that “increased the rate of fire of a semiautomatic firearm.” The bill has been referred to Judiciary and HAFC. No dates have yet been set for a hearing yet.

H.B. 100, by Rep. Andrea Romero (D-Santa Fe), would mandate a 14-day waiting period before someone could purchase a gun from a Federal Firearms License (FFL).

H.B. 101, also by Romero, aims to ban magazines, but for those that are ten and under, while also banning so-called “assault weapons.” The legislation has not yet been referred to a committee.

S.B. 44, by Majority Senate Leader Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe), would ban firearms at polling places. That bill has been referred to the Senate Rules Committee and then the Senate Judiciary Committee. No dates have yet been set for a hearing as of publication.

Keep track of bills scheduled for the committees by visiting the NMLegis.gov website’s “What’s Happening” page.

Opening day: MLG goes leftward, Dems boot moderate from powerful chair post

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On Tuesday, the New Mexico Legislature met for the first session of the 56th Legislature, which is meeting for 60 days this year. 17 new members were sworn in, and Democrats elected Rep. Javier Martínez (D-Bernalillo) as the next state House speaker, succeeding former Speaker Brian Egolf (D-Santa Fe). 

Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham also gave her annual “State of the State” address, where she made clear her priority to ram through $10 million in funding for a new Las Cruces abortion facility and codify abortion up to birth into law.

She also announced she wants socialized “universal health care” in New Mexico, taxpayer-funded paid family leave, expanded “free” college programs, as well as millions more to fund the state’s already failing schools that rank behind all other states and the District of Columbia. She also called for a new state department, the “New Mexico Health Care Authority” to help enact her universal healthcare dreams, as well as universal gun bans in the state.

But the most surprising takeaway from the meeting of the 56th Legislature on opening day was the removal of more moderate Rep. Patricia Lundstrom (D-Gallup) from the powerful House Appropriations Committee. Speaker Martinez put progressive Rep. Nathan Small in the spot instead, garnering confusion about the leadership mixup.

According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, Lundstrom said following the news, “This is unbelievable.” She told the Albuquerque Journal, “I’m incredibly disappointed, and I’m absolutely shocked.” She said Martínez “said I don’t meet his vision.”

“The speaker has the responsibility and the prerogative to organize the House committees as he feels best meets the current needs of New Mexico,” House Democratic spokeswoman Camille Ward told the Journal. “With new leadership on both sides of the aisle and on many of our committees in this session, Speaker Martínez is beginning a new chapter to move New Mexico forward.”

Another member making a large move is Rep. Christine Chandler (D-Los Alamos), who was moved from the chairwoman of House Taxation and Revenue to the powerful House Judiciary Committee, succeeding Rep. Gail Chasey (D-Bernalillo), who was recently elected Democrat House floor leader.

Initiatives Democrats seek to pass during the legislature include many of Lujan Grisham’s proposals, as well as “modernizing” the state legislature from a “citizen legislature” to a “professional legislature” where members of the House and Senate are paid, while they each are granted funds for district offices in their respective areas of the state. 

Lujan Grisham surprises with support for ‘School Choice Week’

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Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham made a surprise proclamation honoring School Choice Week, which commemorates school choice and the betterment of educational opportunities for students. 

Lujan Grisham declared January 22-28, 2023 as School Choice Week in the state, writing in the proclamation that “educational variety not only helps to diversify our economy, but also enhances the vibrancy of our community.”

She recognized that New Mexico has “many high-quality teaching professionals in all types of school settings who are committed to educating our children.”

Now, as the 2023 Legislative Session rolls around on Tuesday, she will have the opportunity to push for and sign legislation that will enshrine school choice in New Mexico.

State Sen. Craig Brandt (R-Sandoval) is sponsoring a school choice bill enacting “Education Freedom Accounts, which can be used to pay for private school tuition, tutoring services, textbooks, and instructional materials, nationally standardized assessments, and other educational charges” approved by the Public Education Department.

“It outlines the application process and procedures for parents and education service providers, as well as the rules and responsibilities of the parents and students,” and “creates an Education Freedom Review Commission to assist the department in determining what expenditures are qualifying educational expenses,” according to Brandt.

A similar bill being sponsored by state Rep.-elect John Block (R-Otero), will enable open enrollment for students to attend other schools in their district or outside of their district if their zoned educational resources are failing. Block believes no child should have to be stuck in a failing school just because of where they live in New Mexico.

Enacting school choice, which is a non-partisan issue, has shown to be an incredible step forward in creating quality education in other states. If New Mexico enacts such changes, it could lift the state from being 51st in education and propel it on the path to educational betterment.

Editor’s note: Block is the founder and editor of the Piñon Post, New Mexico’s #1 conservative online news publication.

Pro-abortion legislators insist they will ‘codify’ abortion up to birth into NM law

15 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

Far-left pro-abortion legislators are chomping at the bit to ram through even more pro-abortion legislation, although New Mexico has effectively already legalized abortion up to birth and infanticide with no protections whatsoever for women, babies, or medical professionals.

Despite the extremist anti-life agenda seeping through New Mexico via repeals of health protections for pregnant women and killing the terminally ill via cocktails of lethal unproven drugs, the far-left Democrats want even more of the life-ending policies.

Rep. Linda Serrato (D-Santa Fe) and Sen. Linda Lopez (D-Bernalillo) are planning on “codifying” abortion up to birth and infanticide into state law after Democrats in 2021 stripped protections, effectively legalizing just that. 

The Democrats claim that women should have unadulterated access to killing children in the womb “without a fear of retribution or shame or jail,” according to Serrato.

The bill, which is not listed as pre-filed on the New Mexico Legislature website, is reported by the Santa Fe New Mexican to mimic Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s executive order that decreed “abortion is an essential part of reproductive health care and must remain legal, safe and accessible.” Abortion is neither health care, since it ends a life instead of protecting one, and is not reproductive since it stops the reproductive process.

Lujan Grisham also is attempting to pass $10 million in funding to open a new abortion facility in Las Cruces to end the lives of the babies of Texas women traveling to the Land of Enchantment seeking the death-inducing procedure.

The New Mexican claims the radical anti-life bill “is likely to pass and end up on Lujan Grisham’s desk for her signature” due to the heavily Democrat makeup of the Legislature. Despite the political makeup, many Democrats in New Mexico are pro-life, with recent polls by the Albuquerque Journal and others showing New Mexicans of all political affiliations overwhelmingly support limits on abortion. 

Pro-life legislators are also sponsoring life-affirming bills that will protect life in the womb.

Dems drop two new radical anti-gun bills ahead of 2023 Legislature

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On Thursday and Friday, Democrats dropped more anti-gun bills to assault New Mexicans’ Second Amendment rights. 

On Thursday, far-left legislators state Rep. Patricia Roybal Caballero (D-Bernalillo) and state Sen. Linda Lopez (D-Bernalillo) dropped H.B. 72, which makes it illegal to “knowingly possess

or transfer a semiautomatic firearm converter,” making the sale of any kind of modification device to enhance usability a fourth-degree felon.

H.B. 72 requests $1.5 million from the state to enforce the extreme anti-gun bill.

Another bill, H.B. 101 by far-left state Rep. Andrea Romero (D-Santa Fe), bans large-capacity magazines “regardless of whether the device is attached to a firearm.” It forces anyone owning such magazines to “remove the large-capacity magazine from the state,” “sell the large-capacity magazine to a licensed firearms dealer,” or “surrender the large-capacity magazine to a law enforcement agency for destruction.” It includes no grandfather clause and would take effect July 1, 2023, if passed. Any violator of the proposed law would be a fourth-degree felon.

Furthermore, anyone who owns any semi-automatic firearm, which Romero dubs an “assault” weapon, would be forced to either “remove the assault weapon from the state,” “render the assault weapon permanently inoperable,” or “surrender the assault weapon to the appropriate law enforcement agency for destruction.” Like the previous section of the bill, anyone not in compliance will become a fourth-degree felon.

These new anti-gun bills are just the beginning for anti-gun Democrats’ gun-grabbing agenda, which is sure to only increase, with the four already filed bills dropping before the 2023 Legislative Session starting on January 17. It is unclear if more will drop over the weekend or after the legislature goes into session.

All of the bills already proposed have either been stricken down in other states or are ripe for litigation due to their flagrant violation of the Second and Fourth amendments to the U.S. Constitution, as well as violations against the New Mexico state Constitution. 

Dems drop second anti-gun bill of the 2023 Legislative Session
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